Thursday, April 12, 2012

Old General Store

I remember the F W Woolworth stores like it was yesterday.  Sadly, these stores disappeared one by one in the Montreal area until they were all gone.  These stores were known as the old five and dime stores and sold just about everything from wool to small pets such as budgies and goldfish.  


They had a long brown luncheon counter where you could order breakfast or lunch for a very good price.  The food was always fresh and delicious.  On the counters you could see clear round glass containers which displayed fresh pies and cakes.  You could order coffee, soft drinks, tea, a hot meal, sandwiches...practically whatever you wanted and the service was friendly.  


I really miss these stores!  Back then all receipts were done by hand and the cash register was loud and made a jingle sound.  


I am sharing a few photos of the old general stores...including an F W Woolworth store...and its menu!  In the first photo you can see someone is actually seated in a store!  This is very rarely seen today.





Thank you all so much for visiting me today, and please feel free to share your memories by clicking on the "comments" link at the end of my post.  I look forward to your comments.

12 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:53 AM

    I have fond memories of shopping & eating at the Woolworth's lunch counter with my mom when I was little. In fact, I have mama's little Italian porcelain basket dish that she kept her wedding rings/watch in that still has a Woolworth's price tag on the bottom!!! Great post. Have a lovely day. Mildred

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  2. My husband and I often reminisce about the old Woolworth's store. We miss those days. I loved to go in for a chocolate soda. No one knows how to make them anymore.

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  3. Hi Linda
    Can't seem to find your e-mail address???
    If you want to contact me:
    c.huggins1943@gmail.com

    I tried to enlarge that menu, I failed.
    It would be interesting to see the food available and the prices.
    I remember way back in the 1950's as a kid, I might add!, that the bigger shops in Sydney and the Coles and Woolworths had cafeterias! Very popular with the shoppers, however, on reflection now, I wonder how we survived, the food served then, would probably be left by pigs!!! ha ha.
    That old photo is a classic of the people in the shop, great shot.
    Cheers
    Colin (Brisbane. Australia)

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  4. Looks very cosy to me warming up by the potbelly great pictures

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  5. We still have Woolworths stores. In fact Woolworths and Coles are the biggest chains of supermarkets in the country. They have a monopoly and hold us to ransom with their prices.

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  6. Your interesting posts of the past have me thinking about a childhood album I have from the forties and fifties.... Perhaps I should try a little nostalgia on my own blog... :)

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  7. Hi everyone,

    Thank you so much for your comments! Colin, I am new at blogging and the image I posted for the F W Woolworth menu seemed larger before I posted it here...not sure how to fix this, though. I can tell you that the sandwiches were just 30 cents, though. :)

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  8. O.K. I just figured out how to enlarge the menu...and did. However, it seems to distort the image when I make it larger. At any rate, it is more visible than it was initially.

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  9. oh my! i use to love woolworths..and we had little diners within the stores here in US too! i miss them. great memory flashback Linda..thanx :)

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  10. Anonymous3:07 PM

    Thank you for blogging about this.... I have a 70+ year old General Store and it was closed when I bought it, & I have been running it as a restaurant only for last 7 years. You have inspired me to revitalize & reincorporate the "General Store" part of it. I also enjoyed seeing what was on the menu then. I have been doing well as a restaurant w/full menu, but I think the patrons would enjoy the General Store idea even more!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your comment; I am so glad that my post has inspired you. Please feel free to share your news as to how things go! I wish you all the best!

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